The weekend college football betting action gets started early Friday afternoon from Nashville as Purdue faces Auburn in the Music City Bowl. Hugely disappointing season for the Tigers, who were a preseason Top 10 team but finished 7-5 with three losses by at least 14 points.

However, they are 3.5-point favorites over the 6-6 Boilermakers, who got bowl eligible with a 28-21 win at rival Indiana to close the regular season. It’s already been a successful postseason for Purdue, though, because it kept head coach Jeff Brohm from bolting for alma mater Louisville. The Boilers are just 6-16 SU in their past 22 games after a win.

In the Camping World Bowl from Orlando, No. 16 West Virginia faces No. 20 Syracuse. The big story there is star Mountaineers QB Will Grier deciding to skip the bowl and focus on the NFL Draft. He should be a first-round pick. WVU’s best offensive lineman, Yodny Cajuste, also will sit. The Orange are 1.5-point favorites and have covered their past three against WVU.

No. 24 Iowa State faces No. 13 Washington State in the Alamo Bowl from San Antonio. Wazzu quarterback Gardner Minshew, a transfer from East Carolina, had one of the best seasons in school history and finished fifth in the Heisman voting. The Cougars are 3-point favorites but have failed to cover their past five games against Big 12 schools.

Saturday is when the two national semifinals are staged, but there are three warm-up bowl games on the slate as well. It starts with No. 10 Florida facing No. 7 Michigan in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta. The Wolverines might not be overly motivated here as they had College Football Playoff aspirations before getting routed in the season finale against Ohio State.

Despite three starters skipping the bowl Michigan is a 6.5-point favorite, and the Gators are 3-8 ATS in their past 11 games as an underdog.

South Carolina faces Virginia in the Belk Bowl from Charlotte. The Gamecocks are 5.5-point favorites. Virginia had a shot to win the ACC Coastal Division but lost its final two games, both in OT. The Wahoos are 1-4 ATS in their past five games against SEC teams.

And in the Arizona Bowl from Tucson, Arkansas State of the Sun Belt faces Nevada of the Mountain West. The Red Wolves are -1.5 and have won and covered their past four games.

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